Environmental Science & Conservation

Overview

A degree in Environmental Science and Conservation will prepare you for a career in a diverse and increasingly important field. In fact, environmental science and conservation are consistently rated among the fastest-growing career fields in the world.

The Environmental Science and Conservation program is immersive and experiential. As a student in the program, you will have opportunities to apply knowledge through class exercises, volunteer work, and internships.

With our own 250-acre federally-protected nature preserve and access to thousands more acres of Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, our program at Concordia is uniquely situated to provide you with the knowledge, skills, and experience required to be highly competitive in the job market.

Internships

In order to stand out in a competitive career field, graduates must have a résumé packed full of relevant work experience. Therefore, our primary goal is to ensure that no student graduates without excellent credentials and a solid résumé. The primary means of developing credentials is through internships. Majors are strongly encouraged to complete at least three internships prior to graduation. One is required by the degree plan. Majors work with our partners, including Travis County Natural Resources, the City of Austin, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, doing the jobs that professionals in the field do.

Learning Environment

As an Environmental Science major, you'll discover:

Faculty who combine impressive academic qualifications with extensive professional experience.

A friendly community where you can make lifelong connections with classmates from a wide variety of professional and personal backgrounds.

Abundant opportunities to build work experience and develop a professional network to maximize your ability to compete in the job market.

In the Classroom

Classes cover an enormous range of topics, including:

climate change

air quality

ecology

waste management

sustainability

water conservation

Since our campus is part of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve system, our program focuses on issues particularly relevant to the preserve, such as wildlife management, water quality, and land-use planning. Moreover, effective writing skills and an understanding of environmental policy are key components of each class we offer because they are necessary in the environmental career field. We also strive to incorporate as much hands-on material as possible into our courses because we are blessed with abundant physical resources on our campus, along with access to our partners' properties.